So recently I revealed a not-so-secret-secret to a friend. I actually enjoyed Moulin Rouge!. I know, I know. Shut up. Anyway, one of the (many) great tracks from it was a cover of Elton John’s Your Song. Which has to be, on its own, one of the best love songs of all time. I know you’ve heard it, but seriously, press play:
I’d normally put something that good on a shelf labeled “Do Not Cover.” But then Ewan McGregor (!) did this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnoG0ONh4b8
Knocked it out of the park. (According to Nicole Kidman, too.) So really, you’d think that it was done. I mean, loads of covers out there, but no one’s going to top the original, and McGregor’s take staked out something so different that anything else would necessarily fall short. But then:
Not sure what it is about this one that works so well. Obviously Goulding’s voice is something special. But it’s more than that. The arrangement, the voice, the pauses. It’s a worthy addition.
Joy
I can’t really listen to other versions of this song without feeling too off-kilter. When I was little my family would often listen to my Dad’s reel-to-reel tapes (made from the vinyl, see, so the records wouldn’t wear out) in the evenings. This song, more than any of the others, brings me back to being 6 on a winter evening sitting on my Dad’s lap.